1872 Liberty Head $5 Half Eagle

1872 Liberty Head $5 half eagle gold coins were made at the Philadelphia, San Carson City (CC), and San Francisco (S) mints. Of these three mints, the branch facilities of Carson City and San Francisco struck far larger quantities of the 1872 half eagle.

Here’s a look at the mintages and values of 1872 $5 Liberty Head half eagle gold coins:

• 1872, 1,660; $1,285

• 1872-CC, 16,980; $4,000

• 1872-S, 36,400; $1,021

• 1872 proof, 30; $25,000

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20 unless otherwise stated.

While it may be tempting to refer to mintage figures for estimates on current population figures, they hardly correspond to the number of survivors today. For example, the business-strike 1872 (Philadelphia) half eagle was the lowest mintage issue in the series that year, but today is much less valuable than the higher-mintage 1872-CC $5 gold coin. This is because Carson City gold coins weren’t saved in large numbers, making the small number of survivors quite rare today. Many were melted, which is the case with the 1872-CC (and other) half eagles. 1872 $5 gold coins contain a net total of 0.24187 ounces pure gold per coin, a substantial amount. Still, 1872 Liberty Head $5 gold half eagles, designed by Chief Engraver of the United States Mint Christian Gobrecht, are much more valuable as numismatic coins than bullion pieces.